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A Hawaiian folk legend about sexism, chauvinism, and a goddess with a flying yoni.

Pele

Pelehonuamea

According to ancient Hawaiian legend Pelehonuamea, commonly referred as Pele, was 1 of 6 daughters and 7 sons of Haumea (the Earth goddess) and Kane Milohai (the creator of the sky, earth, and the heavens. Pele is the goddess of fire and volcanoes. She came to the Hawaiian islands after being exiled from Tahiti because of her hot flaming temper. It is believed that she made Halema’uma’u Volcano her home. Pele is referred to as “She who shapes the sacred land”.

Stories over time have developed of Pele traveling throughout the islands appearing as a beautiful young or old woman sometimes accompanied by a white dog. When humans encounter her she will make small requests. If the person refuses to accommodate her needs they will face her wrath. Pele was reported by tourists of photo bombing her face in their vacation pictures of lava lakes.

Halema’uma’u Valcano, March 2013

Tourist beware, when visiting the Hawaiian Islands it is forbidden to remove a lava rock from the islands. Lava is a sacred piece of the fire goddess. If you remove a piece bad luck will fall upon you. Also when visiting Halema’uma’u, around the edges of the caldera, grow ohelo berries. It is considered offensive to eat these berries before offering them or at least asking for permission from the goddess. Remember, a fire goddess is not someone you want to offend, they tend to have a reputation of having explosive tempers.

Kapo

Kapo is a Hawaiian goddess of fertility, sorcery, and dark powers. She is believed to take on any shape that she pleases and has the ability of detaching her vagina from her body. It is also believed female mediums serving as a host to Kapo must cover their genitalia with a ti leaf. If they fail to do this, the mediums would be victims of having their vaginas ripped off.

Kamapua’a

Kamapua’a – The Pig God

Kamapua’a translates to pig child. Born on the island of Oahu through human parents he was known to be an adventurous and a mischievous character. Kamapua’a has the powers of turning his human form into a hog. Kamapua’a was a demigod that was only worshiped by commoners. In human form, Kamapua’a was described to be a very strong, attractive, and charismatic man. He had a reputation with the females in villages that he traveled through on his journeys.

There are many different variations to this story. According to one source, Kamapua’a falls in love with Pele but was quickly rejected by her calling him a “child of a pig”. With time, they fell in love but their short lived romance ended in a heated feud.

Feminism vs. Male Chauvinism

One Hawaiian legend tells of a situation where Kamapua’a was stalking Pele. After several rejections from Pele, Kamapua’a tried to force himself on her like a lusting animal. Somehow feeling something was wrong, Pele’s sister came to her aid. When Kapo arrived and saw Kamapua’a trying to rape Pele, Kapo pulled up her hula skirt, grabbed and ripped her own vagina off. She threw her heavily scented womanhood across Kamapua’a face enticing his lust away from Pele redirecting him like a dog fetching a flying stick hurling across the horizon. His pig instincts on overdrive caused Kamapua’a to run off of a cliff and land on his face. Some variations of the legend are saying that this magical vagina sprouted wings and flew about 200 km to the south-eastern point of O’ahu. The Kohe lele, another word for vagina, made an imprint on the ground after landing. The Hawaiian volcano crater is referred to as kohelepelepe, Hawaiian for fringed vagina.

Kohelepelepe aka Koko Head

Final Thoughts…

The story of Kapo and her flying vagina has many deeper meanings depending on how one perceives the telling of this story. Some people say that Kapo was an ancient feminist fighting against a male dominated culture. Kamapua’a, the pig god, coincidentally or intentionally played the role of a modern day reference to a “male chauvinist pig”. While reading about this legend, I’ll be honest, it lured me in the moment I saw the words magical flying vagina.References

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Fertility, rebirth, and resurrections have been apart of human culture since the dawn of civilization. The bunny and the egg are universal symbols representing fertility and rebirth. Cultures throughout time have been celebrating the rebirth of life by paying homage to old gods and goddesses of spring, commemorating the resurrection of Jesus, or still pondering the unsolved philosophical question, “which came first the chicken or the egg?”.

A decorated ostrich egg over 60,000 years old

Ostara or Eostre

Anglo-Saxons were Germanic inhabitants of Europe between the 5th and 11th century until the Norman Conquest. Before the 8th century, Eostre was a Saxon goddess of Dawn and Spring. The hare was considered to be her sacred animal representing fertility and the egg was a symbol for rebirth. The Scandinavians of this time period referred to her as Ostra and those who lived in the area now known as Germany called her Ostara. In Germany today they celebrate Ostern which is Easter to the english speaking world. There were many other gods and goddesses worshiped by ancient cultures during the spring equinox around the Mediterranean Sea, but Eostre is so far the only pagan goddess that has a direct influence on the modern holiday Easter.

Passover

In Judaism, Passover is one of the three Shalosh Regalim, or 3 pilgrimage festivals. People would gather in Jerusalem at springtime with their agricultural offerings. On the first night of Passover a seder (order) meal that has 15 separate steps in a traditional order is prepared. At sometime during the seder the telling of the story of Exodus from Egypt and the first Pesach (Passover) is told. The seder ritual objects can vary by tradition but most common are a shank bone, lettuce, an egg, greens, a bitter herb, and a mixture of apples, nuts and spices. The egg represents the Passover offering of ancient days as well as the wholeness and continuing cycle of life.

The Resurrection of Jesus

Christians celebrate Easter as a remembrance of the resurrection of Jesus. Jesus was crucified and resurrected during Passover. In 325 AD the Council of Nicaea determined that Easter should be the Sunday that follows the first moon, after the Spring Equinox. On the Gregorian calendar, (named after Pope Gregory XIII) that would fall between 22nd of March and 25th of April. The Christian custom of Easter eggs started with early Christians of Mesopotamia who colored eggs red to represent the blood of Christ.

The Easter Bunny

The Easter Bunny is the egg-laying bunny that leaves colored Easter eggs on Easter Sunday. In the 1700’s German immigrants brought this tradition into America. The parents told their children to use their bonnets or caps as nests and leave them out at night before going to bed and if they were good, the Easter Bunny (Oschter Haws or Osterhase) would leave them eggs in their nests. Eventually traditions evolved where the egg-laying bunny would lay and hide the eggs for the children to hunt.

Final Thoughts…

For those of you who have been losing sleep over the metaphysical question, “which came first, the chicken or the egg?”. It’s simple of course; the magical bunny laid the egg and out hatched the chicken. Now you can get some sleep and have a good night.

The history and the hidden meanings behind a classic childhood game that can serve not only as a cheap form of entertainment for the little ones but also as: a quick history lesson of the Thames River, a “How to Build a Bridge For Dummies” guide, a very subliminal way to scare the kiddos into behaving, or a way to express our sexual desires through innuendos and maneuvers. Yes; that’s right! “London Bridges”, is not just for kids.

Two children face each other and form an arch by raising their arms forward and interlocking each other’s hands together. The rest of the children take turns walking under the arch while singing the song and on the last word of the verse “lady” is said, the arch comes down and captures one of the children. The game continues until all of the kids are captured or the little tikes get bored and restless.

Short History Lesson

Bridging the Thames River was a long and tedious task that began during the late Roman empire era. In 43 AD, the Romans established Londinium (London) as the capital of England. During this time period the Romans made several attempts of building bridges over the river and finally succeeded around 50 AD. Then, the shortly lived wooden bridge, was burned down during the Viking and Saxon invasions. Bridges were rebuilt many times also due to natural disasters such as the 1091 tornado and the 1136 fire.

In 1176, the construction of the first stone arch bridge in Britain, “Old London Bridge”, started in efforts to replace the wooden bridges that survived from the Roman occupancy. Peter, a priest and chaplain of St. Mary’s of Colechurch, was the architect and project leader until his death in 1205. The construction of the bridge was completed in 1209. The new stone bridge had 19 arches including a gatehouse with a drawbridge. To create a source of income from the bridge, shops and homes were constructed and lined on both sides of the roadway of the bridge. For thrills locals would shoot the bridge from their small boats.

Three years after being completed a fire destroyed all the buildings on the bridge and killed thousands of people. The houses and shops were quickly rebuilt narrowing the pathway to four meters (approx. 13 feet). Do to the pressure of winter ice, five arches collapsed in the winter of 1282. The arches were rebuilt as well. The constant additions to the buildings eventually created a tunnel like passageway across the Thames River. Queen Elizabeth I, ordered to have water mills added onto the structure of the bridge in the 1580s. Despite the bridge having a bad reputation of constantly being under repairs and more and more additions being added to the shops and houses, the Old London bridge was the only crossing of the Thames River in London until 1750 when the Westminster Bridge was completed and opened.

Shortly after the city decided to repair the London bridge the project was taken upon Charles Labelye. All of the houses were removed and the roadway over the bridge was expanded to 14 meters ( approx. 45 feet) and the two center arches were replaced with one great arch at the middle of the bridge. After completion in 1762, the remodeling of the arches led to erosion of the riverbed. Eventually the city decided to give up spending resources to fix the bridge and gave the New London Bridge project to John Rennie. The new bridge was built several yards upstream from the old bridge. Rennie died in 1821 before construction of the new bridge could start and was picked up by his two sons. The project was completed in 1831. After serving the Londoners for 622 years the Old London bridge was demolished. Rennie’s bridge lasted almost 140 years until it was dismantled and shipped across the Atlantic ocean to the United States, where it now resides at Lake Havasu, Arizona. The modern London bridge was built between 1968 and 1972.

The origins and meaning

Similar rhymes have been found all over Europe that pre-dates the earliest London Bridge version. “Knippelsbro Går Op og Ned” from Denmark, “Die Magdeburger Brück” from Germany, “Pont Chus” from France, and “Le Porte” from Italy, are all suspected to be the influence of the “London Bridge” version. The earliest reference to the English version was in the comedy “The London Chanticleers” printed in 1657. No words of the rhyme or mention of the melody were stated, however the popularity of the rhyme and melody was greatly influenced by Henry Carey and his satire play, “Namby Pamby” in 1725.

Namby Pamby is no clown,

London Bridge is broken down,

Now he courts the gay Ladee,

Dancing o’er the Lady-Lee.

In 1823, a more popular version was printed in the Gentleman’s Magazine.

London Bridge is broken down,

Dance over the Lady Lea,

London Bridge is broken down,

With a gay lady.

Then we must build it up again

What shall we build it up withal?

Build it up with wood and stone,

Wood and stone will fall away.

etc…etc…ete…

The meaning behind the rhyme is not really clear and numerous theories have developed. The modern version was first recorded in the late 19th century. The game that is associated with the song resembles arch games that date back to the middle ages. The theory of the meaning about the constant struggle of repair and rebuilding the many bridges that allowed Londoners for centuries to cross the Thames River may have some small truths, but the original rhymes regarding the London Bridge were very different compared to the earliest forms of the modern version.

The Fair Lady

The identity of the “fair lady” reference within the rhyme is uncertain, nothing has been proven, but suspicions of the identity to the reference are:

The River Lea – another river that feeds into the Thames River.

The Leigh family of Stoneleigh Park, Warwickshire– a family linked to a story about a human sacrifice that lies under the bridge.

Matilda of Scotland– The Queen of England, Henry I consort, who was responsible for building the series of bridges between 1110 -1118.

Eleanor of Provence– Henry III consort, who had custody of the revenues of the Old London bridge from 1269 -1281.

The Human Sacrifice theory

Alice Bertha Gomme, a folklorist, who wrote The Traditional Games of England, Scotland and Ireland (1894-1898); presented the idea that the Old London Bridge could be involved in a human sacrifice during the constructions and/or reconstructions of the bridges. Gomme pointed out that in certain variations of the “London Bridges” rhymes there is a watchman or a prisoner mentioned in the later stanzas of the songs. Human sacrifice was believed to be necessary to protect the structures, to serve the purposes as guardians or “watchman” and protect the building from supernatural forces. In 1880 Calcutta India locals were afraid to be out at night due to people disappearing. Sacrificial offering towards the construction of the Hooghly Bridge was a popular suspicion to the explanations of the missing people of the area. The prisoner reference is suspected to be metaphor for a live or dead human sacrifice to be entombed in the structure for eternity. However, there were never any reports found stating that human remains were ever found when the Old or New London Bridges were torn down or, shall I say… falling down.

Meanwhile…

London Bridge Today

According to the Urban Dictionary, London Brides is also a modern slang word for panties. When a lady says “you make her london bridges fall down”, she is saying you make her hot… sexually. It is also a sexual position involving four consenting adults, two males and two females, or four females with attachments. For further explanation look that up for yourself.

The belief and/or desire to communicate with ghosts of loved ones, historical, famous, or infamous, is a common human behavior and has always been a part of human culture. Examples of communing with the dead can be found in the Bible, mythology, classic literature, and on the shelves of your nearby children’s toy store. Does the Ouija Board really work or is it just a game for entertainment purposes only?

Spiritualism in America

During the year of 1848, the obsession of spiritualism, already popular in Europe, spread like a wildfire in the U.S. when Kate and Margaret Fox; two sisters who lived in Hydesville, NY, became instant celebrities by claiming they contacted the spirit of a dead peddler. The word “medium” is used as a label that identifies the talented or “gifted” person who has the ability of communicating with the dead by using various methods such as table turning (tilting or taping). The medium along with the attendees would sit around a table and place their fingers lightly on the edge of the table top. The medium would ask questions and then call out letters or numbers and if the table taps the floor on the letter or number the answer is presumed to be the spirit communicating back. Another method was developed by placing a pencil sticking through the center of a small basket and the spirit would write out the answer of the questions asked by the medium. Later this tool developed into what is now known as the planchette, French for small plank.

Interesting historical tidbit…

Mary Todd Lincoln conducted a séance in the White House after their 11 year old son died from illness in 1862.

Other methods and tools were also used and developed to commune with the spirits but failed in the market. The planchette tool became the most popular method of communing with the other side, due to the cost of manufacturing, this device was cheaper than its competitors such as the various types of dial plate instruments which were sometimes referred to as psychographs.

Elijah Bond

Charles Kennard

In 1886 certain variations of talking boards where becoming the latest craze in the spiritual culture. Business partners Charles Kennard, Elijah Bond, and a few other investors created their first version of their talking board. They managed to convince a patent worker that it worked and the first patent talking board gave credit to Kennard and Bond in 1890. The Ouija board got its name supposedly from a séance that took place with Kennard, Bond, and Helen Peters, Bond’s sister-in-law, who had a reputation of being a strong medium. When Miss Peters asked the board “what would you like to be named?” The board responded by spelling out Ouija. Miss Peters asked, “What is the meaning of the word Ouija?” The board answered back, “Good Luck”.

William fuld

Starting as a varnisher for the Kennard Novelty Company, Fuld managed to climb the company’s ladder and became a major stockholder and eventually ended up running the company. Fuld never claimed and is not the creator of the Ouija board, but somehow the New York Times reported this misinformation by declaring him the inventor. In 1927, Fuld died from falling off the roof of his new factory. Ironically, supposedly the Ouija board told Fuld to build the factory in the first place.

Does the board work?

If you have ever used an Ouija board at a party there are always those who will try to get a scare or a quick laugh, but it is also common when people are using the board to claim that they are not the ones moving the planchette and accuse the other person and of course the other person denies it and says the same thing. The ideomotor effect is the culprit behind this phenomenon. Ideomotor actions are unconscious movements that occur when we focus on not trying to move. The movement of the planchette on the board can occur naturally for the same reason dowsing is believed to be a good way to find water.

Is the Ouija Board evil?

Spiritualism was a very popular trend during the Civil War era. During and after wars it is very common for people to try to contact lost loved ones. In 1967, a year after Parker Brothers bought the rights from Fuld’s company, the Ouija board sold 2 million boards which outsold Monopoly that year. The year 1967 was also the same year where more American troops were sent into Vietnam and also the year of “Summer of Love” in San Francisco. The evil reputation of the Ouija board didn’t really start developing until the movie The Exorcist was released in American theaters in 1973. Then more horror movies used the Ouija board and helped create the evil reputation of the Ouija board that is now known today.

Half human and half fish or half human and half bird folklore lives and breathes in religious texts, literature, film, and big fish tales shooting from the mouths of drunken sailors spreading their over embellished stories of their voyages of the seas. Folklore involving merfolk is embedded in cultures throughout the world, landlocked to coastal regions.

Era or Oannes

Babylonian deity Era aka Oannes is the Fish-god that is represented on seals and sculptures that date back to 5,000 BCE. This fish god was usually depicted to have a bearded head with a crown and a half upper half man with a scaly fish tale instead of legs. This is the first known depiction of a merman.

Atargatis

Atargatis is a Syrian origin goddess whose influence spread to Greece, Rome, and beyond. Atargatis is the first depiction of a mermaid. Over the hundreds of years of being worshiped she was referred to be the goddess of fertility, goddess of the earth and water, and the goddess of love. She is believed to be the direct inspiration to the Greek love goddess Aphrodite.

Folklore

The lore of merfolk can be greatly diverse from culture to culture. Some folklore portray the mermaids/mermen as benevolent beings who are responsible for prosperous harvests. The morning dew on plants was believed to be the results of mermaids or water sprites dancing on land under the moon lit nights. Other cultures perceive these merfolk to be malevolent beings that lure unsuspecting travelers with false promises of romance or luck that lead the victims to their watery deaths.

Rusalka…

a slavic myth of a ghost, water spirit, succubus or mermaid like demon that dwells at the bottom of the rivers, lakes, or wells. Rusalki (plural) are spirits of young women who died a tragic death anywhere near a body of water. In some versions, unbaptized babies who were drowned by their mothers were believed to be the creations of Rusalki. Rusalki were cursed to live in the form of a mermaid and reside in the waters to where they originally met their fate. They would sing enchanting melodies to entrap men, women, or children to their watery deaths. Rusalki can live on water or land and are commonly described to be pale or to have translucent skin, and to have no visible pupils. Some stories state that they have green fiery eyes with green or golden hair which is always wet. This variation with the wet hair description states that if the hair of the Rusalka drys, she will die. In some versions, the Rusalki had a positive effect on crops.

Sirens…

a Greek mythological creature described to be a half bird and half woman who lure sailors to their deaths with their beautiful melodic voices. Homer, the ancient Greek poet, mostly known for The Iliad and The Odyssey, claimed to have seen two sirens on an island in the western sea between Aeaea and the rocks of Scylla. In The Odyssey, the Greek Hero Odysseus wanted to hear the beautiful sounds of these creatures. Under advisement from a sorceress named Circe, the crew stuffed wax into their ears to silence out the temptresses. Odysseus had himself tied to the mast of the ship to prevent the temptation of the beautiful sounds that would lead to impending death.

A little History tidbit..

In 1492, Christopher Columbus sailed out from Spain to find a western trade route to Asia. Taken from his journal entries, On January 9, 1493, near the Dominican Republic, Columbus noted that he spotted three mermaids. Later, the conclusion was drawn that Columbus could have mistaken manatees for the creatures that he described in his journal entry.

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Urban legends involving ghost trains have been reported from around the world since the early days of locomotives. The Silver Arrow, later to be known as Silver Pin, is a story that dates back to the the mid 1960s behind the backdrop of Stockholm, Sweden.

The legend begins when an experimental aluminum model C5 train was built. 1 out of the 8 prototypes was left unfinished. The car was left unpainted and had other differences that separated it from its peers. It was missing an air suspension, it had a whining distinctive motor sound, and it had outlying sliding doors. It was stated the sliding doors were an idea that would allow more room on the inside of the train for passengers. Another difference between the cars was that the interior panels were installed on the other cars that supported beautiful advertisements on the walls that brought a little color into a commuter’s mundane life. The interior atmosphere of the The Silver Pin was described to be an urban ghetto landscape littered with graffiti and a metaphorical imagery of the daily grind mentality from the working class perspective. The odd “red headed step child” train was only put into commission to be used as a backup car in the Stockholm metro system.

The Folklore

The stories of the ghost train vary from each other. One claims that the The Silver Arrow or Silver Pin is believed to be a train that is only for the dead. Another legend states that If one were to step into the train and sit down they would disappear forever or would finally get off the train weeks, months, or even years later. Reports from subway tunnel workers and commuters claim to have seen Silver Pin moving down the rails filled with commuters with emotionless stares gravitating to the front of the car.

Another urban legend of a haunted abandoned metro station, Kymlinge station on Line 11 also referred to as The Blue Line, had intertwined with the legend of The Silver Pin. Another legend of The Silver Pin ghost train claims that the last stop on the Silver Pin is the Kymlinge station. “Bara de döda stiger av i Kymlinge”, (“only the dead get off at Kymlinge”).

My Thoughts…

The reputation of the train, while being in use, would probably have something to due with the infamous reputation that it later ended up earning. Being only used as a backup would explain why common everyday commuters would rarely see the unique car. The Silver Pin also developed the reputation of not being very reliable. Due to it being the back up train I’m willing to bet the schedule of arrivals at the various stations would be affected. Out of frustration, the people relying on the metro system waiting to be picked up could’ve had a part in creating the references of the legend. I know from personal experience, while having to be dependent on public transportation from my younger days as a teenager, I had made statements such as “I will probably be dead by the time this damn bus arrives.” Of course I’m paraphrasing from the original comments that I made that were filled with all kinds of colorful language and euphemisms.

With Halloween coming around the corner and little kids coming to the doors of strangers asking for candy, beware of the Black Eyed Kids. If the images of movies such as “The Children of the Corn”, “The Omen”, “The Village of the Damned”, or those creepy little twin girls from the “Shining” haven’t terrified you of the little ones, this post might do it.

While reading over many encounters of these mysterious children from paranormal/UFO sites, I had the natural jerk reaction from time to time to look over my shoulders to make sure there was nothing behind me. I also have a habit of leaving my front door open with the security door closed and locked to let the cool air breeze flow through my house during the evenings. After reading the first few of these accounts of the black-eyed kids I couldn’t fight the urge to close my front door in fear of walking to my kitchen and seeing two silhouettes of small children peering into my house demanding me to let them in.

Folklore

The sources that I have uncovered from surfing the internet vary about who these mysterious beings are or what their true agenda serves. However the descriptions of the out of this world kiddos tend to match with each other. They have pale or olive-like skin. Their clothes usually tend to be modern of the time periods of the encounters, however the color of the clothes tend to clash or they were all black. Their eye sockets are commonly described to be empty or missing human eyeballs and are nothing more than black voids. The most common theme of these encounters state that the B.E.K.s have to be invited into your house or your car. These kids do not act like normal kids. They are not shy. They will try to play on sympathy or resort to intimidation. Some sources claim that these children are somehow tied or even related to M.I.B. (Men In Black). Other sources are stating that they are hybrids of vampires and werewolves and are used to lure unsuspecting prey to the lairs of their masters or possibly vengeful spirits.

Conclusion

Personally I wouldn’t be surprised if many claims tend to be fictitious stories that have spread like wildfire on the internet that have good entertainment value to allow bloggers, including myself, to make a living. However there are a lot of these stories and some can be traced back to Ancient China, so the possibility of these other worldly children trying to gain entry into your humble abode could have some truths. I’m not going to rehash all of these supposedly true encounters because it would distort other’s perception of their reality. But, if you are interested and brave enough, check out my references and dig deeper if you dare. If you decide to be skeptical that is normal, however, if you are visited by these creepy little kids and they try to pull the sympathy card or intimidate you, Do Not Let Them In!